Supportive Love Outweighs Hate
by btamamura
Summary: What-if Cilan were to receive the same harsh welcome from Brock's fans that Tracey had? Well, Tracey would help him through it of course!


_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Pokemon, if I did, then Tracey would appear a LOT more often, and he and Cilan would meet._

**Note:** This what-if fic came about after seeing a fanart on DeviantArt by SonicAngel948 called _Starchshipping - It'll Be Okay_. I doubt Cilan will be loathed, but if he is, there is someone out there who would be able to help him through it, and that someone is Tracey Sketchit, who knows exactly what it's like to be loathed by the majority of the fanbase. There is no shounen-ai here, Tracey is just being a supportive friend. (Also, I am a huge fan of Tracey and I am starting to love Cilan too!)

It was something unexpected for the Sommelier. Normally, girls would be tripping over themselves in order to just get to know him, in order to just get close to him and squeal about how cute he and his brothers were. But, these girls (and guys) from outside of Unova (outside of the Pokemon world) were saying nasty things about him, about how he had done the evil deed of replacing a character who has been there from the beginning (minus that quick stint on Valencia Island). "But, I...I didn't replace him...he decided to become a Pokemon Doctor, it's not like I influenced him to leave so I could travel with Ash," he murmured as he read more and more angry, hateful comments. Some got to be so intense he found himself moving away from the table piled with letters.

Tracey had finished dealing with his mail for the day, there were some fan letters begging for him to return, while the occasional hateful letter showed up. He was leaving the Pokemon Character Post Office when he heard a distressed voice coming from one of the new rooms. He knew that tone all too well, he'd used that a lot in the past when he read his mail. Concern filled him like water filled a glass, so he decided to see if the new guy was alright.

Cilan couldn't take reading anymore of the hate-mail. He felt as if he would suffocate if he were to stay in there much longer, so he turned to the door and left the room, almost bumping into someone he didn't know. "Oh, excuse me." He wanted to keep walking, to get as far from the room as possible.

"Excuse me, Cilan, was it?" He hadn't met him before this day, but he'd heard from Professor Oak about Ash's new travelling companions, and since this was the block for Ash and his travelling partners, it wasn't hard to draw that conclusion. "Are you alright?"

Cilan was always a gentleman first, no matter how distressed he felt, so he did as was polite and turned to answer the teenager. "I'm just in a great deal of shock."

"I understand. Shall we sit in the lunchroom and talk about this?"

"There's really nothing to talk about. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to leave now."

Tracey was about to let him leave as he requested, but then he remembered how he didn't have anyone to help him when he first received piles upon piles of hate-mail. "I was accused of replacing Brock as well."

Cilan's green eyes widened as he heard those words. "How did you know?"

"The way you appear right now, the same distress, I felt that a few years ago."

Understanding that the teenager in front of him did have a grasp on the situation, he decided to accept the invitation to talk about it, even if he only knew the young man standing before him was one of Ash's travelling companions in the past.

Cilan was seated at the table while Tracey prepared some herbal tea for both of them. Normally, he'd feel inclined to be preparing the tea, but Tracey had insisted on it, knowing that Cilan was upset. He gazed at the tabletop sadly, the shock still not wearing off. He snapped out of his trance when a teacup came into his line of view.

"Hopefully this tea is alright," Tracey commented as he sat down opposite the Sommelier.

"It is fine, thank you. May I ask what your name is?"

"Oh, of course. My name is Tracey Sketchit."

"Tracey... It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You as well." He had a sip of his tea before he began to speak. "Please allow me to explain what happened to me in the past. If you feel that our situation is different, then you do not have to tell me anything if you do not want to."

"Very well."

"It was years ago when I met Ash and Misty. Brock had decided to stay on Valencia Island with Professor Ivy, in order to help her around the lab. At first, things were pleasant, I received some kind welcomes, but then came the hate-mail. A lot of it accused me of replacing Brock. Some included name-calling, which was uncalled for. But, as if those weren't hard enough to deal with, next thing I knew, a lot of fanfiction in which I get killed for no reason appeared on the internet. There were people who tried to defend me with their own stories, but the overwhelming number of negative-fanfiction would continue to increase." He shook his head. "Even after I decided to accept the invitation to stay at Professor Oak's lab as his assistant after Brock reunited with Ash and Misty, I continued to receive hate-mail from a lot of Brock's fans. I didn't know how I was going to handle it, I couldn't talk to anybody about it because nobody would understand just how upset it made me. Years passed, and I started receiving a lot of fan-mail. They were begging for me to reappear one day, just one small cameo would make them happy. I still receive those letters everyday from the same fans. Yes, I still receive some hate-mail, but it's not as bad anymore. The few fans I have still support me, and that makes me content, it helps me forget about the nasty remarks people have made towards me."

"Our situations are somewhat the same. As I understand, Brock left the journey so he could become a Pokemon Doctor, but the letters I received today all accused me of replacing him. As I said to myself earlier, it's not like I influenced him to leave so I could travel with Ash."

Tracey nodded. "Exactly, but they don't seem to understand that."

"I'm a gym leader, along with my brothers Chilli and Cress. Our gym doubles as a butler cafe, and we always charm our female customers. They always return, and say it's because of us. But, I must've done something to rub these people the wrong way."

"You've done nothing wrong."

"So..." He started to tear up, the hateful words in the letters sounding through his head. "...why does it seem like I have?"

Tracey rose from his seat and moved to Cilan's side. He placed a hand on the Sommelier's shoulder. "I asked myself that for years, but now I know, I didn't do anything wrong. People just tend to get upset for the wrong reasons and so they direct it at someone else, because they certainly do not want to direct it at who should receive it. But, Cilan, it is never your fault, alright?"

He nodded silently, his throat starting to close as the tears started to fall.

Tracey noticed this, so he helped Cilan to stand and wrapped his arms around him. "You should also know that it is always alright to cry." Sobs came from the Sommelier, so he rubbed his back and whispered words of reassurance.

Cilan calmed after a few minutes. He wiped his eyes, but stayed in Tracey's embrace. "Will it ever get easier?"

"In time. For now, think of something else to help stop those words from hurting you."

"Like what?"

"Do you have fans? Think of their kind words of encouragement, their words of love. Those will help you whenever you receive hate-mail." He felt Cilan return the embrace and smiled gently. "I'll always be there for you too, I'll help you through these times."

"Thank you, Tracey." For the first time that day, the Sommelier smiled gently.


End file.
